TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS SOLVED
THINKING ABOUT THE POEM
Que.1. Read the poem again, and work in pairs to do the following tasks:
(i) Find the words that describe the movements and actions of the tiger in the cage and in the wild. Arrange them in two columns.
(ii) Find the words that describe the two places, and arrange them in two columns.
Now try to share ideas about how the poet uses words and images to contrast the two situations.
Ans. (i) In the cage In the wild
(a) Stalks is quite rage (a) lurking in the shadow
(b) stalking the length (b) sliding through the of his cage long grass
(c) Ignoring visitors (c) snarling around houses
(d) hears the last voice of patrolling cars (d) baring his white fangs
(e) stares at the stars (e) Terrorising the village
(ii) In the cage
The few steps of his cage, locked in a concrete cell, behind bars patrolling cars
In the wild
Lurking in the shadow, long grass, water hole, plump deer, jungle edge, terrorizing the village.
Que.2.Notice the use of a word repeated in the lines such as these:
(i) On pads of velvet quiet, In his quiet rage.
(ii) And stares with his brilliant eyes At the brilliant stars.
Que.3. What do you think is the effect of this repletion?
Ans. (i) In first line the movement of the tiger in the cage has been described as ‘quiet’. In the second, the anger of the tiger has been described as ‘quiet’, and shows the helpless silence of the tiger. The use of the word ‘quiet’ in two different contexts focusses the reader’s attention on the word ‘quiet’, because of the contrast. It shows the intensity of the tiger’s anger also.
(ii) The use of the ‘brilliant’ with eyes and stars heightens the effect of the brilliance of the tiger’s eyes.
3. Read the following two poems–one about a tiger and the other about a panther. Then discuss:
Are zoos necessary for the protection or conservation of some species of animals? Are they useful for educating the public? Are there any alternatives to zoos?
The Tiger
The tiger behind the bars of his cage growls,
The tiger behind the bars of his cage snarls,
The tiger behind the bars of his cage roars.
Then he thinks.
It would be nice not to be behind bars all
The time
Because they spoil my view
I wish I were wild, not on show,
But if I were wild, not on show,
But if I were wild, food might poison me.
But if I were wild, water might drown me.
Then he stops thinking
And…
The tiger behind the bars of his cage growls,
The tiger behind the bars of his cage snarls,
The tiger behind the bars of his cage roars.
—Peter NiblettThe Panther
His vision, from the constantly passing bars,
has grown so weary that it cannot hold
anything else. It seems to him there are
a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world,
As he paces in cramped circles, over and over,
the movement of his powerful soft strides
is like a ritual dance around a centre
in which a mighty will stands paralysed.
Only at times, the curtain of the pupils
lifts, quietly, An image enters in,
rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles.
plunges into the heart and is gone.
—Rainer Maria Rilke
4. Take a point of view for or against zoos, or even consider both points of view and write a couple of paragraphs or speak about this topic for a couple of minutes in class.
Ans. Do yourself.
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